Optical (Lasers/Windows)

The optical applications of sapphire leverage the material’s optical transparency, physical strength, ruggedness, the ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions from temperature, abrasion and corrosion, and bio-compatibility. Sapphire can be used in a variety of environments ranging from the laboratory and industrial to field applications in oil fields and oceans and even in space.

Optical applications depend on large crystals with appropriate optical properties. The shapes can range from very small optical covers for lasers, probes or instrumentation or very large such as camera lenses and windows for space vehicles. For example, sapphire is transparent from 180 nm to over 5500 nm. This wide transparency window makes sapphire one the best materials for optical use. Sapphire also has great stability and is very resistant to optical damage such as solarization reducing the ability to transmit UV light.